Atletico Madrid have had a strong season up until now, and currently, they are well-placed for success in La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League. Diego Simeone has reverted back to a 4-4-2 system in recent months, and despite utilising one less defender and central midfielder, they have been very good.
A significant amount of the success in midfield can be credited to Pablo Barrios, who has established himself as an indispensable player this season. He has displaced club captain Koke Resurreccion, and he has also not given a sniff to Conor Gallagher, who joined from Chelsea last summer in a deal worth in excess of €40m.
Barrios has been excellent for Atleti this season, and given that he is only 21 years of age, he has the potential to continue getting better and better. Los Colchoneros officials will hope that this continues to be the case with him at the Metropolitano, although there could be chances for him to move on.
Barrios, who was on the end of a very strong challenge from Dani Ceballos during last weekend’s Madrid derby, is attracting interest from Bayern Munich and Chelsea, as per BILD (via ED). According to the report, both clubs are willing to pay €70m to land the talented Spanish midfielder.
Atleti are covered from this interest for the time being, as Barrios has a €100m release clause in his contract – and this being activated is the only way for a sale to happen, as the club has no plans to negotiate. They are also planning to offer him a new contract at the end of the season, having recently taken the decision to postpone negotiations.
it’s clear that Atletico Madrid should be doing everything to retain Barrios’ services, as he can be the new leader of their midfield – thus following in Koke’s footsteps. It will be interesting to see whether they can agree a new contract in the coming months, but if not, it opens the door to Bayern and Chelsea.
